PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Brunson shielded his face and pierced a white towel with a scream. The Knicks’ All-Star point guard banged knees with fellow Villanova product Kyle Lowry as the buzzer sounded on Sunday’s third quarter, leaving Brunson hobbling toward his teammates and then back into the locker room.
“I didn’t want to,” Brunson said, but the training staff ushered him under the stands, followed by a trail of New York’s front-office brass, plus his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson. The next minute and 43 seconds of Game 4 against Philadelphia were full of wanting looks from New York’s bench, down the tunnel through which Brunson had limped, all waiting for the Knicks’ little locomotive to re-emerge.